Gassed: Hawks 2, Canes 4
Well, it's over. The Hawks 8 game road trip that started in the east, then swung through western Canada, down to San Jose mercifully ended with one last game in North Carolina tonight. Through the first two periods, it certainly looked like the Hawks were poised to make a good road trip a great one. The only thing keeping the Canes from being blown out was the yeoman's work of Cam Ward in goal. The Hawks were down 2-1 going into the third period and absolutely dominated the first 8 minutes of play, and finally tied the game up on a nice snap shot by Andrew Ladd. At that point, Chicago seemed to run out of gas. I expected them to take charge, but a brain fart allowed both Chad Larose and Brandon Sutter uncovered in the Hawks zone, and Sutter tipped in Larose's shot for his 13th goal of the season (which I believe makes him the 2nd all time leading goal scorer in the Sutter family). 30 seconds later, Matt Cullen's shot ricocheted in off Brent Seabrook's skate and that was the game. The Hawks still grabbed 10 out of 16 points on the trip, but you'd have liked to get 1 or 2 tonight, as those would have felt like bonus.
THE GOOD
Cam Ward: Nobody on the ice was better than Ward tonight. He made 39 saves, and this wasn't a case of the all the shots being pushed to the outside, many were point blank chances. There were several great stops, but the one fresh in my mind has to be when Ward stoned Patrick Kane as he stood completely uncovered in front of the crease. Kane didn't botch the shot, he was patient, he made his best move and Ward stopped it. You gotta tip your hat to him on this one.
Marian Hossa: Evidentially, Marian reads Hockeenight.com religiously and objected to my labeling him as "bad" in the last game, because Hossa came out on fire. He was everywhere in this one, scoring one goal and could have had 4 easily were it not for Ward's heroics. His linemates Patrick Sharp and Andrew Ladd merit a mention as well, Ladd had the Hawks other goal, and the 3 of them were terrific in the offensive zone.
Cycling: The Hawks had more than one shift where they were able to keep the puck in Carolina's end for nearly a minute and then complete and entire line change without allowing the Canes to clear the puck. Damn that's sweet to watch.
THE BAD
Keith and Seabrook: I think these two were definitely showing the effects of the long trip in the last two games, and they were each -2 tonight and were responsible for several Canes being left alone on Huet's doorstep. Hopefully Bulgaria can somehow knock Canada out of the Olympics before the medal round, giving the Hawks d-men some extra time off.
The Last 10 minutes: The Hawks lost it all at once after Ladd's tying goal. I'm not sure if it was heavy legs or mental fatigue, but blown coverages led to Sutter's goal, and Cullen's 30 seconds later was the back breaker. Chicago suddenly couldn't seem to sustain the effort they'd brought in the first 50 minutes of the game, and it cost them at least one point.
THE UGLY
Midway through the second period, Marian Hossa tripped over a diving Brent Sopel and crashed headlong into the end boards. He was extremely slow to get up and at first glance it looked like a head or shoulder injury, but he was apparently fine (he served the penalty he had just committed) and finished the game. Just kind of a scary moment as one of those fluke plays can take a guy out at any time.
Up next: The Blackhawks get a few days off and then play the Blues on Wednesday in some place called Chicago. Where the hell is that?
Hockeenight's official unsubstantiated trade rumor of the night, brought to you by Dave Morris:
"Sharp, Barker, Versteeg and Byfuglien for the Canes' first pick in 2010...plus Samsonov and rights to Babchuk."
THE GOOD
Cam Ward: Nobody on the ice was better than Ward tonight. He made 39 saves, and this wasn't a case of the all the shots being pushed to the outside, many were point blank chances. There were several great stops, but the one fresh in my mind has to be when Ward stoned Patrick Kane as he stood completely uncovered in front of the crease. Kane didn't botch the shot, he was patient, he made his best move and Ward stopped it. You gotta tip your hat to him on this one.
Marian Hossa: Evidentially, Marian reads Hockeenight.com religiously and objected to my labeling him as "bad" in the last game, because Hossa came out on fire. He was everywhere in this one, scoring one goal and could have had 4 easily were it not for Ward's heroics. His linemates Patrick Sharp and Andrew Ladd merit a mention as well, Ladd had the Hawks other goal, and the 3 of them were terrific in the offensive zone.
Cycling: The Hawks had more than one shift where they were able to keep the puck in Carolina's end for nearly a minute and then complete and entire line change without allowing the Canes to clear the puck. Damn that's sweet to watch.
THE BAD
Keith and Seabrook: I think these two were definitely showing the effects of the long trip in the last two games, and they were each -2 tonight and were responsible for several Canes being left alone on Huet's doorstep. Hopefully Bulgaria can somehow knock Canada out of the Olympics before the medal round, giving the Hawks d-men some extra time off.
The Last 10 minutes: The Hawks lost it all at once after Ladd's tying goal. I'm not sure if it was heavy legs or mental fatigue, but blown coverages led to Sutter's goal, and Cullen's 30 seconds later was the back breaker. Chicago suddenly couldn't seem to sustain the effort they'd brought in the first 50 minutes of the game, and it cost them at least one point.
THE UGLY
Midway through the second period, Marian Hossa tripped over a diving Brent Sopel and crashed headlong into the end boards. He was extremely slow to get up and at first glance it looked like a head or shoulder injury, but he was apparently fine (he served the penalty he had just committed) and finished the game. Just kind of a scary moment as one of those fluke plays can take a guy out at any time.
Up next: The Blackhawks get a few days off and then play the Blues on Wednesday in some place called Chicago. Where the hell is that?
Hockeenight's official unsubstantiated trade rumor of the night, brought to you by Dave Morris:
"Sharp, Barker, Versteeg and Byfuglien for the Canes' first pick in 2010...plus Samsonov and rights to Babchuk."
Posted by CT at 1/30/2010 9:36 PM 
Categories: Chicago Blackhawks, Carolina Hurricanes
Tags: Marian Hossa Blackhawks Cam Ward Hurricanes
Categories: Chicago Blackhawks, Carolina Hurricanes
Tags: Marian Hossa Blackhawks Cam Ward Hurricanes
Thought they were going to steal a point tonight.
I would believe that Morris guy. Those Canadians know their hockey.
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Samsonov is the key piece in this blockbuster trade rumor...think of him as mini-Kovalchuk.
Oh, and don't forget to play hockey tomorrow, eh.
BTW excellent recap by CT. And whattya know, no bad words.
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You forgot to put Huet in "The Bad" section.
This team may be "gassed" or "tired" but no excuses. Plus, Ward played out of his mind in that game.
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There was nothing bad about Huet 's performance, and nobody's making excuses. They don't need to. This was a terrific effort by a team that was obviously tired against a tenacious opponent whose goaltender played an outstanding game.
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Seriously Fro, did you even watch the game? I'm wondering if you just saw that 4 goals were given up and decided Huet had a bad game, or if you watched the game and just know nothing about hockey. Either way, your ignorance really shines through.
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Stick to telling stories about how you know guys who once saw Chris Chelios drink, or how you once owned a Tony Amonte jersey. Leave the hockey talk to the sane.
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I still OWN that faded and wrinkled Amonte jersey.
But going back to me being a "meatball", Cristobal Huet is only consistent at being inconsistent. If you guys want to see what an actual looks like, watch a Sharks game with Evgeni Nabokov in net.
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actual goalie*
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We watched Nabokov play. The Hawks would send a limo for that choke artist.
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You mean the Evgeni Nabokov who has a 3.80 GAA against the Hawks this year? The one Huet outplayed a few nights ago? Whattabout him?
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He is trying to broaden the audience of this site to children and conservative Christians.
I won't play hockey today, but will try ice fishing.
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Ice fishing works, DenRizz. Kudos.
Great hockey day here...15 degrees F. The ice at our neighborhood outdoor rink is outstanding. Will be wearing my Hawks colors in honor of our HockeeNight acolytes.
Cheers.
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I've already asked cafepress about offering hockey sweaters. If they get on the ball, you'd better line one up.
Same thing for bowling shirts.
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The Hurricanes' first goal was a very smart play - there was only 10 seconds or so left in the period, so the Hawks had no chance of getting the puck back down the ice, so they threw all 5 skaters at the front of the net.
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The question being asked out on the rink today was, "How do Seabrook and Keith compare to Moose Vasko and Pierre Pilote?"
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Oh, and The Burke Deals may foreshadow a move involving the Hawks. Depth defenseman Garnet Exelby (28 yrs old, 6'1", 215, 6 yrs experience including one playoff series) is available, probably for a prospect or pick. A guy who likes to hit and does it well, Exelby would add toughness and a steady presence. Contract expires in June 2010, salary 1.725 fits the Hawks' currently available space.
This would mean, of course, that Georges Laraque would not be a Hawk, much to the dismay of his fans.
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Seabrook and Vasko are a pretty good comparison.
Keith and Pilote are totally different players. That being said, Keith's #2 will hang by Pierre's #3 in the rafters one day.
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Actually, it was fascinating to watch a Hawks-Leafs game from the fall of '63 today on the NHL Network--and see Pilote and Vasko at work. Maybe Seabrook should be nicknamed "Elmer", eh.
This was the game where Reggie Fleming took on the entire Leafs team in a line brawl.
BTW what struck me was how much better the players are now...in every respect.
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